Following the announcement of Nintendo’s 3DS price cut, one analyst believes that 3DS games deserve a price drop as well. Â In a recent interview, M2 Research Analyst Billy Pidgeon thinks that Nintendo will need to take drastic measures to increase its attach rate of games to the handheld.
“Nintendo needs to change its business fundamentally. With Wii and DS, Nintendo built large installed bases but failed to energize those bases. Selling in hardware is important, but Nintendo must increase attach rates and third party opportunity dramatically. Lower 3DS hardware prices only address part of the problem. It’s more important to sell more software as packaged goods and paid digital downloads to each customer who buys a hardware unit,” he said. “I would like to see Nintendo cut the retail price of packaged software to a range of $20 to $25 for the 3DS. DS software should be $20 or less.”
At this point, it’s safe to say that Nintendo is going through one of the toughest times in recent company history. Â They have a Wii that is declining in popularity and relevance, a 3DS handheld that is failing to pick up traction in the sales department, and a new console on the way that has left many questions unanswered. Â Will they move to drop the prices of first party titles to help software sales on the 3DS, according to this analyst they should.
